Sundays big Ospreys v Northampton European showdown...! Euro cup ..!

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Ospreys v Northampton Saints

Fit to play: Christian Day
Fit to play: Christian Day

The Ospreys have done Northampton no favours in their team selection in what should be a pulsating Champions Cup game at the Liberty Stadium.

The Welsh region's hopes of qualification are slim but they will not go down wondering what might have been as head coach Steve Tandy names Rhys Webb, Dan Biggar and plenty more talent in his XV.

Dan Lydiate is ruled out so in comes James King on the blindside while last week's scorer Tyler Ardron continues at number eight this weekend.

The Ospreys currently sit on eight points after four matches, six behind Racing Metro and seven off Northampton Saints with two rounds remaining.

Meanwhile, Northampton make six changes from last weekend - a quintet of those in the forwards - as the final block of European Champions Cup pool fixtures begin.

It is an entirely new front-row, returning skipper Dylan Hartley flanked by Alex Waller and Gareth Denman on the loose and tighthead respectively, while Christian Day is fit again and back in the second row for the Round 5 clash.

The final change up front comes at number eight, Samu Manoa making his return to the starting XV, while Ken Pisi's introduction is on the right wing is the solitary alteration among the backs.

Form: Ospreys lost 18-14 away to Racing Metro in their last European clash but currently sit at the top of the Pro12 standings following last week's 22-11 win over the Dragons. Saints beat Treviso 67-0 in Round Four but were beaten 20-7 by Sale in the Premiership last week. Northampton Saints have won on their last four trips to Wales, with their most recent win on Welsh soil coming in last season's competition against the Ospreys. Ospreys are winless in eight home matches against English sides; losing seven. Ospreys' loss to Northampton last season represents their largest home defeat to an English team.

The teams:

Ospreys: 15 Daniel Evans, 14 Aisea Natoga, 13 Ashley Beck, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Tyler Ardron, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 James King, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones (c), 4 Rynier Bernardo, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Marc Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Dmitri Arhip, 19 Morgan Allen, 20 Sam Lewis, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Hanno Dirksen.

Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Samu Manoa, 7 Calum Clark, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Christian Day, 4 Sam Dickinson, 3 Gareth Denman, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Alex Corbisiero, 19 Phil Dowson, 20 Teimana Harrison, 21 Joel Hodgson, 22 James Wilson, 23 Jamie Elliott.

Date: Sunday, 18 January
Venue: Liberty Stadium, Swansea
Kick-off: 17:30 (GMT)
Referee: Jerome Garces (France)
Assistant referees: Patrick Pechambert (France); Jonathan Gasnier (France)
Fourth Official Jean-Marie Piraveau (France)
TMO Jean-Marie Piraveau (France)

*****

Ospreys are in for a very hard afternoon, a long injury list, the team not playing well in their las few games and their entire European Cup season rests on them not just winning this but winning well.

Saints have fought and bought their way into being a European powerhouse. The Ospreys should struggle to compete.

With so many front line injuries in the pack, scrum time will be a nightmare. Saints might be missing Courtney Lawes from their line out but they can replace him with Manoa...!

Not a result I hold much hope for I am affraid...

nathan wrote:

The Saint wrote:

nathan wrote:

The Saint wrote:

nathan wrote:Looked like a swinging arm by the Ospreys prop, presumably the Saint will be pointing it out

Didn't see it. It's one for the citing commissioner. I don't usually go out of my way to point out these things as I've better things to do. But when a bunch of one-eyed fans deny blatant foul play then I might just give my opinion. Grow up.

After you mate.

Typical child-like response. Don't refer to me as mate, you're going to damage my credibility on here .

Told you already, I'll only grow up after you!

And like I told you, a typical child-like response .

NO surprise to see TJ in here giving out his usual "I'm putting you on block because posters disagree with me." Pathetic.

Shame that Tips put in George 3 weeks too blydi early

PenfroPete wrote:Shame that Tips put in George 3 weeks too blydi early

It's kinda good to see them getting the practice in early, but yes, that was a little too early. Same colaboration in Cardiff when they are on the same side would be nice.

Argh what is it with welsh teams and their failings in crucial line outs...?

PenfroPete wrote:Shame that Tips put in George 3 weeks too blydi early

I don't know... If you do pick on form then neither should start!

The Saint wrote:

PenfroPete wrote:Shame that Tips put in George 3 weeks too blydi early

I don't know... If you do pick on form then neither should start!

I don't think either will.

Bad time to give away a penalty

Poorest holding on call. Definitely the wrong one as North was off his feet.

North is not having a bad game...! Not sure that he will be omitted

Not sure I'd go for the kick. Eight points ahead and needing another two tries for the BP with 13 minutes to go...

North's defence really isn't great is it?

C'mon ospreys...!

HammerofThunor wrote:North's defence really isn't great is it?

He defends better from 13 IMO.

Oh God, Corbisiero looks like he has tweaked something, that will be him out for the next three months then.

That is the third time that Saints have smashed the Ospreys scrum got nothing from it and been penalised in the next phase of play. Very frustrating.

Another dominant display from Northampton. They're a really good team.

Dirksen showed at the end why he should have started, poor call from the coach.

Oh well

Well played saints...

Result never in doubt really. Didn't play particularly well but then didn't need to.

Tight second half there. Good win for The Saints and hard luck to the Ospreys. Winner takes all at Franklins Gardens next week.

Well done Saints. A bit scrappy, but did enough.

Scored the tries and good defence against a pretty limited Ospreys side.

Interesting that only Toulon are qualified and 11 other teams still in with a shout...

Exciting stuff.

stub wrote:Interesting that only Toulon are qualified and 11 other teams still in with a shout...

Exciting stuff.

Yeah, good stuff! It's been a really good weekend of rugby again.

Well done Northampton, that pack really is outstanding. Dickinson could yet get his England call up with performances like that.

Ospreys look one or two players away from being a really competitive team again. Just need a bit of bulk in the pack, next season could be interesting with our loose heads and Steenkamp coming back.

Happy with the backs, Biggar and Webb are playing very well behind a beaten pack and the back three are looking lively. Dirksen has to start from now on, his attitude and work rate are a head and shoulders above the others, would love to see him in a back three with Liam Williams one day.

Yep Curly - Dirksen looked a real handful and caused some problems.

CurlyOsp wrote:Well done Northampton, that pack really is outstanding. Dickinson could yet get his England call up with performances like that.

Ospreys look one or two players away from being a really competitive team again. Just need a bit of bulk in the pack, next season could be interesting with our loose heads and Steenkamp coming back.

Happy with the backs, Biggar and Webb are playing very well behind a beaten pack and the back three are looking lively. Dirksen has to start from now on, his attitude and work rate are a head and shoulders above the others, would love to see him in a back three with Liam Williams one day.

Aye Dirksen and Hassler (injured) have that aggressive x-factor.

We are missing strength in the front row against teams like saints... Lydiate would have been a big benefit too.

VinceWLB wrote:Dirksen showed at the end why he should have started, poor call from the coach.

Agreed made a big impact going forward he does not lose the ball in contact unlike the guy he replaced who was very poor.

Hope all players will be fit after the game as it was a hard game.

Will be interesting to see what our back row is when everyone is fit. As good as Dan Baker is, Ardron is in some real form at 8 and if Lydiate starts, who gets dropped?

I guess it will come down to combinations, availability and opposition, but it's certainly nice to have bit of strength in depth at long last.

what is going on with an attendance of 7300 for two top drawer sides?

Thought we actually played well in spells with the ball. Hanno should def start games now. Ospreys have no grunt on the wing with hassler out. Thought it would be a red for pisi. Thru the vertical is a dangerous tackle no? Anyhoo well done Saints. Kept the Os off the ball for 25 mins in the 2nd half that cost us. Webbs ropey box kicking, which is so telegraphed in certain cases and a huge missed overlap at the end cost us dear..l

Given the way the Saints dominated at scrum time then the scoreline wasn't that bad. The Os need to get some front rowers back as they are struggling there at the moment.

Smith and James next year will give them some good options, also hopefully this Steenkamp at lock has an impact.

Gotta love how North seems to get all the headlines over on the match report when he pretty anonymous all game. Hopefully Gatland has both his eyes open...

Dirksen sat him down and did more in 20mins than north did all game

How the mighty have fallen, if anyone had dared to criticise George last year, he would have been hung out to dry.

To be fair he got plenty of criticism during the autumn internationals from Welsh fans too, especially as he had a very good first season with Northampton before that.

Breadvan wrote:Thought we actually played well in spells with the ball. Hanno should def start games now. Ospreys have no grunt on the wing with hassler out. Thought it would be a red for pisi. Thru the vertical is a dangerous tackle no? Anyhoo well done Saints. Kept the Os off the ball for 25 mins in the 2nd half that cost us. Webbs ropey box kicking, which is so telegraphed in certain cases and a huge missed overlap at the end cost us dear..l

Agree with a lot of this, Pisi will be cited and it will affect them in later matches, when he should have had a red in this match and possibly no more, Webb is starting to fall into his old traps of flapping around at the back of rucks and mauls, unlucky for Tips on the knock on, but it was as I said, we wouldn't get anything out of this match, I know it's a bugbear of mine, but the Ref IMO was terrible today, there were 3 scrums in the 2nd half for the Saints that went around at least 90 degrees and he ordered resets every time he should have either given a penalty to them or on the reset given the put in to us he did neither, he allowed them the put in again, and same as most weeks the offside line was flouted on practically every ruck and maul by BOTH TEAMS, apart from that well done Saints, you were the better team and deserved the win.

Really? Didn't realise Dirksen scored a try!

Saying that, Dirksen is Welsh qualified now? Another option to consider if our current wings are not doing so well.

[quote="bedfordwelsh"]Given the way the Saints dominated at scrum time then the scoreline wasn't that bad.  The Os need to get some front rowers back as they are struggling there at the moment.[/quote
Bedford, at the moment ?, we've struggled there now for nearly 3 months, Arhip has been worked to death and Thomas as has been said before is just not up to this standard, what a fantastic game Ardron had today, and has been excellent since he came back from injury.

I have criticised North at every opportunity I have since last summers tests. Amos scored 2 cracking tries yesterday yet if it had been North who scored them then some people would have gone into meltdown

Just got back from watching with some mates.  Thought this was not a great game.  Saints were generally better, but I think it was a pretty close run thing.  Ospreys had their chances down near the Saints line, but just didn't seem to have the firepower to convert their opportunities.  Saints applied better pressure, especially from the back row and the pack in general, and I think that was the difference.  Was a bit surprised Saints went into more of a shell in the second half.

GavinDragon wrote:what is going on with an attendance of 7300 for two top drawer sides?

This was a huge surprise.  Where was everyone?  If people won't come out to watch the top team in the Pro 12 against the top team in the Premiership, then what will people watch?  Disappointing.  

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:How the mighty have fallen, if anyone had dared to criticise George last year, he would have been hung out to dry.

True that.  But in reality George was not so good last season.  Really improved this season.

wayne wrote:

bedfordwelsh wrote:Given the way the Saints dominated at scrum time then the scoreline wasn't that bad.  The Os need to get some front rowers back as they are struggling there at the moment.[/quote
Bedford, at the moment ?, we've struggled there now for nearly 3 months, Arhip has been worked to death and Thomas as has been said before is just not up to this standard, what a fantastic game Ardron had today, and has been excellent since he came back from injury.

Wayne,

I agree but they have managed to get away with it in the main but today it really hurt them.

In fairness the Ospreys could still be playing but still not score a try mainly due to poor throwing into the lineout and missing players mainly in the pack. I hope Baldwin does not get picked for the Wales squad based on his throwing over the last round of games, he is good in the loose but the set piece has to be a priority.

Only caught the last 25 of the game, Arhip was quite impressive. Garces missed twice early shoves from the Saint front row and despite this Arhip still held up well.
I don't think Matavesi has been as good as some are claiming, often forgetting support and lost the ball into contact. Ardron extremely impressive once again. Will be hard to drop.

doctor grey, in answer to your question 'what else are people watching ' tv rugby and soccer and live soccer. swans doing well at the gate ,despite bad loss this week. to be fair , the swans are 9,10,11, in premiership. much as i love my rugby, ospreys especially, entertainment lies on the soccer side at the moment.........even when swans lose !

gavstar wrote:doctor grey,  in answer to your question  'what else are people watching ' tv rugby and soccer and live soccer.  swans doing well at the gate ,despite bad loss this week. to be fair , the swans are  9,10,11, in premiership.   much as i love my rugby, ospreys especially, entertainment lies on the soccer side at the moment.........even when swans lose !

Is Rugby really losing (or already lost) the battle with soccer for the hearts and minds in Wales?  What do you think is the reason?

It seems to have in the Swansea area and valley. The main reason IMHO is that many now see the game as 15 aside RL and almost as boring.

doctor_grey wrote:

gavstar wrote:doctor grey,  in answer to your question  'what else are people watching ' tv rugby and soccer and live soccer.  swans doing well at the gate ,despite bad loss this week. to be fair , the swans are  9,10,11, in premiership.   much as i love my rugby, ospreys especially, entertainment lies on the soccer side at the moment.........even when swans lose !

Is Rugby really losing (or already lost) the battle with soccer for the hearts and minds in Wales?  What do you think is the reason?

When have we ever had massive crowds in Wales for club rugby though? Before regional rugby Newport RFC, for example, would still get around 6,000 like they do now for club games with a low level of travelling opposition supporters, and then more for a derby. It's no different now.

I probably have to think back to times like Newport RFC vs All Blacks in the 70's when they let everyone in and fans were allowed to sit on the side of the pitch! But seriously, I'm not arguing that 7000 is poor just that it hasn't been much different in Wales, ever, in the professional era and before. This dwindling of fans as a result of soccer is a red herring, IMO.

Griff wrote:

doctor_grey wrote:

gavstar wrote:doctor grey,  in answer to your question  'what else are people watching ' tv rugby and soccer and live soccer.  swans doing well at the gate ,despite bad loss this week. to be fair , the swans are  9,10,11, in premiership.   much as i love my rugby, ospreys especially, entertainment lies on the soccer side at the moment.........even when swans lose !

Is Rugby really losing (or already lost) the battle with soccer for the hearts and minds in Wales?  What do you think is the reason?

When have we ever had massive crowds in Wales for club rugby though?  Before regional rugby Newport RFC, for example, would still get around 6,000 like they do now for club games with a low level of travelling opposition supporters, and then more for a derby.  It's no different now.  

I probably have to think back to times like Newport RFC vs All Blacks in the 70's when they let everyone in and fans were allowed to sit on the side of the pitch! But seriously, I'm not arguing that 7000 is poor just that it hasn't been much different in Wales, ever, in the professional era and before.  This dwindling of fans as a result of soccer is a red herring, IMO.

Spot on. These deluded, bonehead comments about dwindling crowds, sporting priority, etc. are getting tedious and show just how ignorant some people are.

Errm ?? Here’s the full list of home ‘European’ attendances since the formation of the Ospreys.  Some names from the distance past in here

2003/4 – average 3,172
Edinburgh 1,822
Toulouse 4,378
Leeds 3,316

2004/5 - average 6,778
Munster 10,280
Quins 5,628
Castres 4,427

2005/6 – average 9,367
Stade 9,408
Tigers 11,488
ASM 7,204

2006/7 – average 11,093
Sale 13,529
Calvisano 6,201
Stade 13,550

2007/8 – average 11,934
Bourgoin 9,704
Ulster 8,082
Gloucester 18,017

2008/9 – average 12,050
Perpignan 10,761
Treviso 7,105
Tigers 18,285

2009/10 – average 10,946 (last time qualified for knock-out stages)
ASM 9,238
Viadana 7,974
Tigers 15,626

2010/11 – average 11,606
Irish 12,437
Munster 12,189
Toulon 10,192

2011/12 – average 6,747
Biarritz 7,732
Sarries 7,098
Treviso 5,411

2012/13 – average 10,660
Treviso 8,746
Toulouse 10,110
Tigers 13,126

2013/14 – average 9,036
Leinster 12,378
Castres 6,385
Saints 8,347

2014/15 – average 7,366
Treviso 7,625
Racing 7,164
Saints 7,308